REflect 2022: Meet The Speakers

We want to inspire the younger generation. We challenge you to reflect and make positive steps towards a brighter future.

One half of our annual REflect event is dedicated to bringing together young people from ethnically diverse and/or low socioeconomic backgrounds and exceptional role models from the engineering & tech world that look and sound like YOU.

This year is no different and we're delighted to introduce the six speakers who will be taking part in our Youth Session on Monday 1st August 2022 in London.

Kayisha Payne

Founder of BBSTEM (Black British Professionals in STEM)

Kayisha Payne began her Higher Education journey at Aston University where she read Chemical Engineering. She continued her education at Imperial College London, where she received a Masters’ in Advanced Chemical Engineering. During Kayisha’s time in industry, she has amassed experience in the Cosmetic Industry (COTY) as a Process Engineer, playing a key lead in bringing a very popular product to market. She was most recently a Biopharmaceutical Process Development Scientist at AstraZeneca and is currently a Healthcare & Life Sciences Consultant. She is also the founder of a non-profit organisation named BBSTEM who’s mission is to encourage and support Black individuals in pursuing a successful career in STEM. Through this work she has been recognised by the Financial Times as one of The Top 100 Most Influential BAME leaders in Diversity and Tech (2018), a STEM Rising Star at The Black British Business Awards (2019), Top 50 Women in Engineering by the WES (2021) and others.

Joseph Bentley

CEO of ACT Medical

Joseph Bentley is an internationally awarded Designer and Inventor. He was the first recipient of the Medical James Dyson award in 2021, and is now the founder and CEO of ACT Medical. ACT is looking to revolutionise the treatment of bleeding from penetrating wounds, with a particular focus on knife crime.

"I am deeply honoured to be a part of Reflect 2022! I can’t wait to meet and share my story with the next generation of changemakers."

Dilani Selvanathan

R&D Engineer, HEROTECH8

Dilani is an adventurous workaholic who loves learning and experiencing new things. She is currently working as a Research and Development Engineer at Herotech8, a robotics start-up. Dilani works on a mixture of electronics, mechanical, software and hardware projects to develop prototypes for automated drone technology.

George Imafidon

CEO Motivez

George is a 25-year-old humanitarian engineer and social impact leader from Peckham, South East London. He is CEO of Motivez, a Performance Engineer with Sir Lewis Hamilton's racing team, X44, and a Board Member at The Co-op Foundation and The Hamilton Commission improving diversity in STEM and motorsport. As a First Class engineering graduate from University College London (UCL), George is passionate about building products and programmes that improve lives and communities. Over the past eight years, he has worked in engineering, technology, consulting, and finance with firms such as Google, William Blair, McKinsey & Company and Rolls-Royce where he saved them ￡50 million through a novel component. In 2015, George co-founded the award-winning venture, Motivez, which was highly commended by Her Majesty the Queen after supporting over 8,000 young people in the UK aged 14 - 25 to access entry-level jobs in STEM. The Motivez team is composed of an experienced team of young professionals who work closely with corporates, funders and local government to deliver programmes and products that empower young people from underrepresented backgrounds to solve the world’s biggest challenges (I.e. Climate Change) through STEM, progress into employment and become changemakers.

Navjot Sawhney

Founder of The Washing Machine Project

Navjot studied an Aerospace Engineering MEng degree. After failing the first year, he went on to graduate as one of the top of his class. Following this, he joined Dyson’s graduate programme where he worked for three years. Then, after taking a sabbatical, he volunteered for one year in South India with Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB-UK) and Prakti Cookstoves to make clean and efficient cookstoves. It was whilst volunteering in India that he was inspired to start The Washing Machine Project (TWMP). A volunteer-led organisation, TWMP seeks to help the women and girls who handwash the clothes of 70% of the global population.

Zainab Adigun

Senior Structural Engineer and AFBE-UK School Team Leader

Zainab Adigun studied BEng in Civil Engineering at Brunel University then a MSc Structural Engineering on a Women in Engineering full scholarship. Zainab designs new buildings and small refurbishments projects across all sectors. As social value champion and EDI team member for her organisation, she helps to define strategy and deliver on social value commitments. Zainab volunteers as a board member for the Association for Black and Ethnic Minority Engineers (AFBE) where she is the team leader for the Making Engineering Hot which works with young people from black and other ethnic minority groups to expose them to careers in engineering. Recently, Zainab was listed as one of 100 Finalists for the Top Women in Engineering 2022 Awards as recognition of her contribution in encouraging females to consider a career in engineering. She has also been shortlisted for the CN & NCE Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering awards